One Shift Can Change Someone's Life
by AngelEstrada
Summary: Lieutenant Matthew Casey took some much needed time off to clear his head, due to the first anniversary of Hallie's death... but will he survive his first shift back at the Firehouse? ((Slight crossover with Chicago P.D. characters, due to ChiFi character history, but focus is on Chicago Fire)) ***Rated T for traumatic scenes***
1. Chapter 1

**SUMMARY:** Lieutenant Matthew Casey took some much needed time off to clear his head, due to the first anniversary of Hallie's death... but will he survive his first shift back at the Firehouse? ((Slight crossover with Chicago P.D. characters, due to ChiFi character history, but focus is on Chicago Fire)) ***Rated T for traumatic scenes***  
**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **The characters of Chicago Fire do not belong to me, and I do not own the rights to them (sadly). :( I just like playing with them. ;) All ideas belong to Angel Estrada at Stokes Fanficz (and LtCasey51 on Twitter), and my amazing co-writer, LMS, so please don't plagiarize! This is our first CF chapter fic, so please be gentle. :) ...Oh yeah, and this is completely un-beta'd. :) Feedback (As well as Con-Crit) is very much welcomed. :)

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_**Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25... Reported structure fire...**_

That's all they heard and Casey jumped up from the table and led them out to the bay, donning his turnout gear and quickly climbing into the front passenger seat of Truck 81, the rest of his men following suit.

Casey had taken some much needed time off to get his head on straight, due to the anniversary of Hallie's death, and, as luck would have it, this was his first day back.

They radioed to dispatch, acknowledging the call, and the address was repeated for them. Running red, they raced to the scene.

As they approached, Casey donned his air pack. "This one's cookin', guys!" He exclaimed, noting bright orange flames and thick, black smoke emanating from the structure. "I'm pretty sure this place was abandoned!"

When Cruz pulled 81 up to the scene and parked, Casey jumped out, putting his helmet on.

He quickly made his way to Chief Boden, who was running errands not far from their current location when the call was received and had already been the first on scene.

"What do we got, Chief?" Casey asked curiously, gazing at the fully involved structure before them.

"Abandoned warehouse fire. Started on the bottom floor and it's quickly working its way up. Send Cruz to vent the roof with Mouch. Take Otis with you to see if there's anyone inside," he said, nodding his head to Casey.

Casey listened intently, taking in Chief Boden's every word. When Boden finished talking, Casey nodded. "On it!" Casey turned to his men and shouted instructions.

"Cruz, Mouch! Head up to the roof and start venting! Otis and I will start up top and work our way down! Let's go!"

He put his mask on as they moved closer to the building. "Smoke's moving fast, so we need to move, too!"

They saw fires often, but some were worse than others... and this was one of those fires.

Otis heard Casey call out to him and he nodded his head, following him toward the building. He donned his SCBA and followed Casey inside.

Visibility wasn't too bad as they made their way up to the top floor, but he knew the lower floors would pose a challenge. "Where's Rescue?" He thought aloud, knowing that more hands on deck would be a huge help in a building like this. He didn't recall hearing any radio traffic from Squad 3.

"Fire Department! Call out!" He yelled a few times, glancing around for any movement, and attempting to listen over his air pack for anyone who may be responding. "Call out!"

"Call out! Fire Department!" Otis echoed Casey, hoping that if anyone was inside, they would respond. He made his way to the top with Casey, continuing to call out. He pushed open a door with his elbow. "Anyone in here? Call out!"

"Sixth floor's clear, Chief," Casey radioed as they finished their sweep of the first floor they were searching. "We're moving down to five!"

As they made their way to the fifth floor, Otis pushed the nearest door open, smoke billowing out.

"This room is filled with smoke, Casey. I can't see a thing!"

Casey had been sweeping the room directly across from Otis, making his way to the next one when he heard him call out to him.

"I got this one! Check that door!" He pointed to the room he'd been on his way to, then entered the room that Otis had opened the door to.

"Hey! Anyone in here? Fire Department! Call out!" He stayed low and close to the wall, following it blindly with his right hand as his left searched with a flashlight, which wasn't very helpful, due to the lack of visibility from the smoke, which continued to multiply.

Casey could feel the heat rising, which meant that the fire was spreading and getting pretty close. He made his way out of that room, discovering no occupants, and went in search of Otis.

"Otis! We gotta keep moving! Fire's spreading fast!" His heart was pounding from the adrenaline. "Let's clear the bottom floors!"

Casey keyed the mic on his radio once again. "Hey, Chief, how's the venting coming?" He looked around and spotted flames shooting up down the hall. "We're moving to the fourth floor now! Smoke's pretty bad up here, Chief, and we've got fire on the fifth! We need an attack line in here!"

Chief listened as Casey relayed all of the details of the situation inside the building. He took a step back and looked up at the roof. He radioed to Mouch, asking how it was going. Mouch responded that it was almost vented.

"Casey, a couple more seconds and the roof will be vented," Boden responded. "Just keep moving and stay alert! It's moving fast! And Casey, stay focused," he said assertively. He was still worried about his mental state, but he knew he could trust the Lieutenant in a situation like this.

"We're good, Chief!" Casey radioed back to Boden, knowing full-well that Boden was referring to him and him alone, but he played it off as if it was a general statement.

He led Otis down to the fourth floor, still wondering where Rescue was, but they were on the front lines this time, and he knew they had to keep their mouths shut and just get the job done.

As they made it to the fourth floor level, Casey began identifying themselves once more. "Fire Department! Call out!" Visibility was just as bad on this floor, but the bright orange flames that were now surrounding them from all sides helped to atleast shed a little light, making it easier while difficult at the same time.

He looked in front of him, repeating, "Call out," as he swept. Casey checked every door along the way, until he came across one that wouldn't budge. He glanced at Otis before putting all of his weight into the door, forcing it to bust open, and he stumbled over a body.

"We've got a victim on the fourth floor!" Casey radioed to his Chief. "We need a ladder up here in the back!"

Chief put a lot of his faith into Casey because he was a good man, a good lieutenant, and a great leader. He really hoped he was truly prepared for this. He kept his radio close, ready to respond to Casey when he called out, and ready for any surprises that may come to their way.

He heard Casey tell him that there was a victim, and he immediately responded. "Get him to the window, Casey! Ladder's on its way!"

As soon as he finished radioing up to Casey, he quickly motioned for the rest of the men on the ground to move the ladder toward the fourth floor window as soon as they could. Within minutes, the ladder was erected and in position, ready to receive the victim from Truck 81's Lieutenant.

"We got the ladder, Casey! Send him out!"

"Otis! Grab his legs!" Casey lifted the victim under his arms, and noticed what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the front of his head. He didn't see any signs of life, and he blew out a breath. He began carrying him towards the window, once Otis had a hold of his legs.

Once at the window, Casey busted it open. "Ready when you are!" He called out, finally spotting Squad 3 pulling up to the scene as he looked down below, and he felt a slight touch of relief.

They lifted the victim through the window, holding onto him until he was secure, then he turned back to Otis, pointing as he gave orders.

"I'm going to finish sweeping the rooms on the other side of the floor. You finish this side up, and we'll meet halfway!"

Casey hurriedly made his way to the opposite side, continuing to identify himself incase anyone else may still be in the structure. As he opened one of the doors, he spotted another male sitting in a corner, up against the wall.

"I've got a second victim, Chief! Give me a ladder on the other side- It's getting pretty hot up here!"

As he tended to the victim, the man began to cough. It was too dark to really see anything, but Casey knew he was alive, and he knew that he had to save him.

"Hey! Listen to me! I'm going to put my mask on your face! Keep it on- It's going to help you breathe!"

Casey quickly took his mask off, placing it over the victim's face, and he spotted flames as he glanced back towards the door.

"Where's that ladder? Flames are spreading quick, Chief! There's no way I'm getting back out the door! Otis, what's your status?"

Casey coughed forcefully and glanced around, checking out the window for help, and he saw that Severide was waiting for the ladder to fully extend so that he could get both men to safety.

Casey went back to check on the victim, who was still hanging on, and that's when he heard an explosion... and the floor soon collapsed beneath him, sending him and the victim crashing four stories to the basement level.


	2. Chapter 2

**SUMMARY:** Lieutenant Matthew Casey took some much needed time off to clear his head, due to the first anniversary of Hallie's death... but will he survive his first shift back at the Firehouse? ((Slight crossover with Chicago P.D. characters, due to ChiFi character history, but focus is on Chicago Fire)) ***Rated T for traumatic scenes***  
**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **The characters of Chicago Fire do not belong to me, and I do not own the rights to them (sadly). :( I just like playing with them. ;) All ideas belong to Angel Estrada at Stokes Fanficz (and LtCasey51 on Twitter), and my amazing co-writer, LMS, so please don't plagiarize! This is our first CF chapter fic, so please be gentle. :) ...Oh yeah, and this is completely un-beta'd. :) Feedback (As well as Con-Crit) is very much welcomed. :)

*****Thank you SO much for the wonderful reviews! I hope you all enjoy Chapter 2! Please leave feedback!*****

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Otis was continuing to sweep the rest of the floor, knocking on the doors and calling out to see if there were any other people left to extricate. So far, he hadn't found anyone. He was making his way toward the center of the floor, anxious to meet Casey in the middle and get out of the building, when all of a sudden, an explosion occurred. He ducked and put his hands over his head, the floor collapsing right in front of him.

Boden heard the explosion and collapse from the outside and he immediately grabbed onto his radio.

"Casey, what's going on?" He waited a few seconds... No response.

"Casey! How's the victim?" He radioed again, this time, his voice a little more forceful… Still no response.

"CASEY," he practically yelled into the radio this time.

The collapse left Casey face-down on the bottom level, his helmet lying across from him, and his face bloody. Debris and flooring rested on top of him, and his body was limp.

The victim moaned and his eyes slowly fluttered open. His brow furrowed as he glanced around, slightly confused, then he'd realized what had happened... and that he'd had a mask on his face.

Matthew Casey's.

He ripped it off and crawled over to the lieutenant.

"Hey," he called out with a deep, raspy voice, "Casey! Get up!"

Casey was unresponsive.

The man pulled out a cell phone, hoping for a signal, which he, unfortunately, didn't have.

"Help!" He called out loudly, "Help!"

Once the explosion passed and the floor had completely collapsed, Otis stood up, careful not to make a wrong move. He grabbed hold of his radio and called back to his chief.

"Chief! The floor collapsed! There was an explosion," he exclaimed, as he looked around for any sign of Casey. "I don't see Casey anywhere! We were supposed to meet in the middle!" He cautiously took a few steps to the side, fully aware of his surroundings so that he wouldn't fall.

Chief got wind of this and cursed inside of his head before he radioed back to Otis.

"I'm gonna send the squad in, Otis! Get to a safe spot so we don't lose you, too!" He immediately radioed Severide and the rest of the squad to head in and search for Casey. He was now convinced that the lieutenant had fallen during the collapse.

Otis heard a voice calling for help, and he quickly turned his head, trying to hear where it was coming from.

"Chief," he radioed, "I hear someone! It's coming from one of the lower floors!"

"Stay put, Otis! Squad's coming in now!"

Casey still wasn't moving. His respirations were slow and shallow, but atleast he was breathing.

The victim guarded his abdomen as he stood up, attempting to remove the debris that lay on top of Casey.

"Come on, Casey! We gotta get out of here! Get up!"

But Casey never moved.

"Hey!" The victim called out once more. "We need help down here! Anyone? Help!"

Otis heard the voice once again calling from down below.

"Help is coming! Just another minute or two!" He reassured him as he keyed his radio. "Chief, are they on their way? "

"They're coming in now, Otis! Just hold on!"

Just then, he heard the squad enter the building. "Fire Department! Call out!" Severide exclaimed, looking around with his flashlight.

"Down here!" The voice called out. "There's a firefighter down!"

Casey's PASS device was emanating loudly, indicative of his lack of movement. Severide quickly made his way over to the sounds of the voice and of the PASS device. His heart sunk, as he knew that this meant that Casey wasn't moving. He feared the worst.

The man coughed a few times, and looked up through the smoke, spotting the Rescue Squad's lieutenant.

"Over here, guys!" He called out, motioning for his men to come with him. That's when he saw Detective Hank Voight. He glared at him. There were still ill feelings, but he was more worried about Casey, so he pushed them aside for now.

He met Severide's eyes and shook his head, hoping they could keep the past behind them and focus on getting everyone to safety.

"It's your boy, Casey," he answered softly, "I don't know if he's alive."

Severide had been calling Casey's name, trying to get him to respond. As he cautiously rolled him over, he noticed the blood that was dripping from his face.

"No..." He thought aloud. "Come on, Casey! Open your eyes! Don't do this to us again! Come on!"

Severide bent down beside Casey, pressing his ear to his chest and feeling for movement in the process.

"He's still breathing! We gotta get him out of here!"

He radioed Chief Boden, telling him that they'd found Casey alive, but they had to move quickly.

After a few moments, Casey finally moaned softly, barely audible, and Severide was satisfied with that.

"Hey, you're alright, Matt. You're okay. Open your eyes."

Casey could hear a muffled voice, but wasn't comprehending anything. His eyes opened slowly, and his pupils were dilated as he stared off into space. Severide's concern grew stronger now, fearful of another head injury.

"He's barely responsive, Chief!" Severide radioed once again. "Make sure 61's ready when we bring him out! We need to load and go!"

"Help me get him up!" Severide yelled to Otis, who had safely made his way down to their level, completely ignoring Voight. "Just watch his head!"

Otis was careful not to rustle any of the other debris, just in case there was another collapse. He bent down next to Casey and grabbed hold of his shoulders.

"I've got his shoulders. You grab his legs!" He told Severide. They had to get Casey out of there as soon as possible.

Casey moaned as they lifted him, and his head bobbed around as they carried him out. His eyes fluttered open and shut a few times, and he blankly gazed around, not making eye contact with anyone or anything. He had no idea where he was right now and he mumbled incoherently.

Chief hurried to the door to meet them once they came out. He already had Shay and Gabby waiting nearby with the cot.

Severide glanced at Otis a few times, then flashed a look of fear in Chief Boden's direction.

Boden saw the lifeless Casey being carried out, and he immediately followed them over to the backboard. "Damn it, Casey," he muttered under his breath as he shook his head. He worried the whole time that something bad might happen... and it did. He phoned the nearest trauma center, letting them know that they had a firefighter being transported to the emergency room very shortly with life-threatening injuries.

When they made it outside, they carefully placed him on a backboard, collaring him as a precaution before securing him, and carefully lifted the board, placing it on the cot and securing him to it. They quickly placed a nonrebreather on him and established a line, starting a wide open fluid bolus, and hooked him up to the monitor as well.

Gabby did a rapid trauma assessment, trying to stay calm as she was now reliving one of the worst moments of her career- The last time Casey was injured in a fire- and as she unlatched his coat, her eyes widened.

"Shay!" She pointed to his abdomen with a look of terror. He had a large puncture wound, more than likely from landing on something that penetrated him during the collapse. They quickly applied a pressure dressing, and Casey groaned in pain as they touched him, opening his eyes.

"Hey, you're okay, Matt. We're going to take you to the hospital and get you checked out. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Gabby leaned in to meet his eyes. He never responded. As she did this, Shay was quickly taking his vitals.

"His pulse is weak and thready and his pressure's dropping," Shay told her partner.

Gabby watched as Matt's eyes drifted aimlessly, his pupils still dilated and unresponsive, and she, too, feared another head injury.

"He's going into shock!" Gabby replied as Shay gave her the run-down on his vitals.

Severide had been in the back of the ambulance, watching intently as they worked, and fearing for his friend. He couldn't believe this was happening again.

"Otis! We need you to drive! We need to go... NOW!"

Otis watched as Shay and Gabby worked on Casey. He let out a sigh as he shook his head, running his hands over his face. He couldn't believe this was happening. When Severide told him that he needed to drive, he immediately nodded his head.

"On it, Kelly!" He said quickly, hurrying to the driver's seat of the ambulance. He turned on the lights and sirens and pressed down on the gas. All that was important right now was getting Casey there as quickly as possible.

Chief got into his truck and followed right behind the ambulance. He had to make sure that Casey was going to be okay. He was worried about him enough as it was, and now it was just getting worse.

Casey coded in the back of the squad, and Gabby and Shay frantically initiated CPR. Shay intubated him and began bagging while Gabby did compressions. They pushed epinephrine and regained a rhythm after a few minutes, and he had a pulse. It was weak, but he was alive. Another I.V. was established in his other arm, and they pushed more fluids.

When Otis pulled into the ambulance bay, they all quickly jumped out, rushing the cot with Casey on it inside.


End file.
